Loyal Site Supporter Registered: July, 2012 Location: Toowoomba, Australia Posts: 5,469 1 user found this helpful | Review Date: June 28, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $300.00
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | Sharp, nice bokeh, handles well, value for money | Cons: | None really | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Autofocus: 8
New Or Used: New
| | I purchased the Sigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 II DC HSM as a general purpose lens for my K-01 which I use under field conditions not conducive to swapping lenses (NOTE: Sigma has now dropped the “OS” on the Pentax mount version). This lens is a new optical formula which bears no relation to the previous two versions. I did some research before deciding on the Sigma. I found two reviews of the OS version which indicated that it is a very sound lens: ePHOTOzine (here) and Popular Photography (here) (Popular Photography gave it “best in class”). The Sigma website also provides some MTF data which suggests the lens should perform well. Below are some images which have been selected for what they demonstrate rather than any artistic merit. I have previously done a rough comparison of this lens with the SMC Pentax-DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 ALII to benchmark performance in the 18-55 range (I did the comparison to help another Forum member get an idea of the Sigma’s performance).The Pentax is well rated in lens reviews on this site. In my view, the Sigma outperformed the Pentax on that test . The comparison images are in my album“Comparison” for those who are interested. My perception from the comparison is that the Sigma has more contrast and appears sharper. The Sigma is acceptably sharp wide open and improves stopped down. Bokeh is good (as demonstrated in the budgerigar image) and CA reasonably well controlled. Aberrations are typical for a lens of this class. Colour rendition and contrast are good. The dingo image demonstrates sharpness at what might be considered portrait length (73 mm). The budgerigar and dingo imagesare 100% crops, 1024x1024 pixels. All images are hand held, jpegs, with no PP. I think the Sigma would be a good choice as atravel or general purpose lens. It is well constructed and handles easily. Idetected no zoom creep. I am giving it 9 because it produces good images acrossits zoom range and it is value for money.
18mm f10 ISO 100 1/160
18 mm f8 ISO 800 1/50
53mm f8 ISO 100 1/100
Red-necked wallaby (dozing on a cold morning) 200mm f8 ISO 200 1/250
Red-necked wallaby 100% crop (1024x1024)
Dingo 73mm f8 ISO 100 1/160 100% crop
Wild Budgerigars 200mm f9 ISO 100 1/250 | |
Inactive Account Registered: January, 2013 Location: Adelaide, South Australia Posts: 1 | Review Date: January 4, 2013 | Not Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 5 |
Pros: | price, focal-length range, compact | Cons: | softness, image quality | Sharpness: 5
Aberrations: 5
Bokeh: 4
Handling: 7
Value: 6
Autofocus: 7
New Or Used: New
| | I bought this lens as a bundle with a K-x because it seemed at the time to be a relatively painless way to get into digital photography without knowing much about equipment. Although it was perfectly easy to use and I had no trouble getting the photos I wanted in most situations, I ended up trading it in for a standard Pentax because I just wasn't happy with the overall image quality - even after extensive manipulations with the latest Lightroom software. Much happier with the Pentax DA 18-55 WR - even despite its reduced focus range - much sharper and better in all facets.
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Forum Member Registered: April, 2012 Location: Belgium Posts: 72 2 users found this helpful | Review Date: July 14, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 8 |
Pros: | solid,good picture quality,colors,wide focale lengh,compact,good AF | Cons: | low contrast, need light | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 5
Bokeh: 5
Handling: 8
Value: 8
Autofocus: 7
New Or Used: Used
| | This is a good lens if you know its weaknesses. Just close if possible aperture and use it in good light situations.
For the rest, it produces sharp pics from 18 to 200mm.
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